Neuroscience

Neuroscience: timeline of key events

Magendie is considered a major founder of experimental physiology. He was one of the first to demonstrate the difference between sensory and motor nerves in the spinal cord. His investigations of the effects of drugs on different parts of the body led to the introduction of strychnine and morphine into medical practice. Magendie was also one of the first to observe anaphylaxis, a severe and potentially systemic allergic reaction, which he noticed after doing a second injection of a foreign protein into a rabbit. 1783-10-06T00:00:00+0000Duchenne, a neurologist, was the first to describe several nervous and muscular disorders and develop medical treatments for them. He provided the first accounts of muscular atrophy and paralysis caused by nerve disorders. This included tabes dorsalis, or locomotor ataxia, a muscular atrophy caused by a degeneration of the dorsal columns of the spinal cord and sensory nerve trunks. He also identified the muscular dystrophy now immortalised with his name. The condition , a severe form of progressive muscle weakness, was first observed by Duchenne in 13 young boys. Duchesne also developed the use of deep tissue biopsy for diagnosis and advanced the science of electro-physiology and electro-therapy. 1806-09-17T00:00:00+0000Jackson is considered one of the founders of modern neurology. He was one of the first to determine structural brain damage can cause abnormal mental states. Jackson showed that epileptic convulsions were linked to lesions of the motor region of the cerebral cortex, the outer layer of the brain. Much of the conceptual framework for clinical neurophysiology today is based on a systematic analytical methods for anatomy, pathology and physiology that Jackson developed. 1835-04-04T00:00:00+0000Kocher was a physician and medical researcher who was a major pioneer in the fields of applied surgery, neurosurgery and, especially, thyroid surgery and endocrinology. His success in the field of surgery is attributed to his implementation of antiseptic wound treatment, use of special masks on patients for anaesthesia and controlling blood loss during surgery. Kocher was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1909 for his work on the physiology, pathology and surgery of the thyroid. He was the first Swiss person and first surgeon to ever receive the prize. Within the field of neurosurgery he showed that some epilepsy cases were caused by brain tumours that could be surgically removed.1841-08-25T00:00:00+0000Golgi was a cytologist and pathologist who shared the 1906 Nobel Prize in Medicine for research into the nervous system. He developed a microscopic staining technique, using silver compounds, for seeing new and unseen structures in nerve tissues and individual neurons in the brain. This he invented in 1873 while working as chief medical officer at the Hospital for the Chronically ill. Golgi was the first to provide clear descriptions of the structure of the cerebellum, hippocampus, spinal cord and olfactory lobe. He also defined striatal and cortical lesions in the case of chorea, a neurological disorder. 1843-07-07T00:00:00+0000MacEwen was a Scottish physician who developed a technique to locate brain tumours by observing changes in motor and sensory functions. He performed the first successful intracranial surgery in 1879 on a teenage girl. The operation was conducted based on preoperative observation of twitches on her face and arms. The patient lived for another eight years. An autopsy performed after her death showed no trace of her tumour. 1848-06-22T00:00:00+0000Ramon y Cahal was a histologist and neuroscientist. He combined scientific and artistic skills to uncover the structure of the nervous system. His theory that the brain is made up of individual cells rather than a tangled web is now a fundamental principle in neuroscience. He shared the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1906 for his discoveries about the structure of the nervous system. 1852-05-01T00:00:00+0000Magendie is considered a major founder of experimental physiology. He was one of the first to demonstrate the difference between sensory and motor nerves in the spinal cord. His investigations of the effects of drugs on different parts of the body led to the introduction of strychnine and morphine into medical practice. Magendie was also one of the first to observe anaphylaxis, a severe and potentially systemic allergic reaction, which he noticed after doing a second injection of a foreign protein into a rabbit.1855-10-07T00:00:00+0000Sherrington was a neurophysiologist, histologist, bacteriologist, and a pathologist who conducted research into the function of neurons. He shared the 1932 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for helping to show that reflexes need integrated activation. Prior to this reflexes were assumed to occur as an isolated activity within a reflex arc. Sherrington coined the terms synapse and neuron to describe parts of the nerve cell that receive or transmit nervous impulses between cells. 1857-11-27T00:00:00+0000Alzheimer was the psychiatrist and neuropathlogist who is credited with identifying the disease named after him. He first came across the disease in 1901 when a 51 year old female woman, Auguste Deter, was admitted to Frankfurt asylum. Her symptoms included a loss of short-term memory. Alzheimer was able to examine her brain after she died in 1906. Using staining techniques he found her brain contained amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, abnormalities that are now associated with Alzheimer's disease. 1864-06-14T00:00:00+0000Cushing was a neurosurgeon who was a major pioneer of brain surgery. He is best known for his work on the pituitary gland and for the first to describe Cushing disease, a condition caused by the body producing too much of a hormone called cortisol, often caused by a tumour or excess growth in the pituitary gland. This leads to swelling in the trunk and face. Cushing also identified several varieties of brain tumours and made great advances in their treatment. Many of the operating procedures and techniques now used in surgery of the brain also come from him.1869-04-08T00:00:00+0000Berger was a psychiatrist and neurologist who developed the first electroencephalogram (EEG) in 1924 for recording brain wave patterns. His technique involved the insertion of silver wires under the patient's scalp, one at the front and one at the back of the head. Berger's innovation was a historic breakthrough, providing an important neurological and psychological tool. Using the EEG Berger was the first to describe different waves or rhythms in the normal and abnormal brain. Many of his German peers, however, did not recognise the significance of his work. Despite gaining international recognition, the Nazi regime forced Berger into early retirement at the age of 65 and banned him from any further work on the EEG. 1873-05-21T00:00:00+0000Loewi was a pharmacologist and physician. He is credited with the discovery of the first neurotransmitter, acetylcholine, in the brain. His work provided the first evidence that chemicals were involved in the transmission of impulses between nerve cells and from neurons to the responsive organ. He established this through investigations of the frog. Loewi was awarded the 1936 Nobel Prize for Medicine for his work. 1873-06-03T00:00:00+0000Erlanger was a physiologist who shared the 1944 Nobel Prize for Medicine with Herbert Graasser for working out the actions of nerve fibers. This they achieved by modifying a Western Electric oscilloscope to run at low voltages. The innovation enabled them to discover that neurons come in many forms and transmit impulses at different rates. 1874-01-05T00:00:00+0000Moniz was a neurologist who pioneered the use of cerebral angiography. He developed the procedure on the back of his idea that the ability to visualise blood vessels would provide a more precise means to locate brain tumours. His technique involved the injection of radiopaque dyes into brain arteries and taking X-rays to see if there were any abnormalities. First presented in 1927, Moniz's technique paved the pay to using angiography to detect internal blockages of the artery. He was also awarded the Nobel Prize in 1949 for his development of lobotomy for treating certain psychoses. 1874-11-29T00:00:00+0000Dale was a pharmacologist and physiologist who helped identify acetylcholine, the first neurotransmitter discovered, in 1914. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1936 on the basis of this work and uncovering the chemical process by which nerve impulses are transmitted. During the 1940s he drew up a scheme to differentiate neurons according to the neurotransmitters they release. 1875-06-09T00:00:00+0000Duchenne, a French neurologist, was the first to describe several nervous and muscular disorders and develop medical treatments for them. He provided the first accounts of muscular atrophy and paralysis caused by nerve disorders. This included tabes dorsalis, or locomotor ataxia, a muscular atrophy caused by a degeneration of the dorsal columns of the spinal cord and sensory nerve trunks. He also identified the muscular dystrophy now immortalised with his name. The condition , a severe form of progressive muscle weakness, was first observed by Duchenne in 13 young boys. Duchesne also developed the use of deep tissue biopsy for diagnosis and advanced the science of electro-physiology and electro-therapy.1875-09-18T00:00:00+0000Hess was a physiologist who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1949 for identifying parts of the brain that control internal organs. He used brain stimulation techniques using electrodes to map regions of the brain associated with specific physiological responses. This he did using cats in the 1930s. He also found it possible to induce excitement and apathy by stimulating different parts of the hypothalamus1881-03-17T00:00:00+0000Gasser was a physiologist. He shared the 1944 Nobel Prize for Medicine for discovering different fibres in nerves that conduct electrochemical pulses at different rates. Together with Joseph Erlanger he studied the barely detectable electrical impulses carried by mammalian nerve fibres. By 1924 they had managed to visualise amplified nerve impulses on a fluorescent screen. Their work demonstrated that one type of fibre conducts pain signals and others conduct motor control signals. Gasser was the director of the Rockefeller Institute from 1936 to 1953. 1888-07-05T00:00:00+0000Adrian was an electrophysiologist who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1932 for his discoveries relating to the nerve cell. This he did with the help of a capillary electrometer and cathode ray tube to amplify the signals produced by the nerve system. Recording the electrical discharge of single nerve fibres under stimulus in a frog he was the first to prove the presence of electricity within nerve cells. This paved the way to a better understanding of the physical basis of sensation and the mechanism of muscular control. His work on the electrical activity of the brain opened up new investigations into epilepsy and the location of cerebral lesions. 1889-11-30T00:00:00+0000Granit was a physiologist who was jointly awarded Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1967 for demonstrating the internal electrical changes that take place in the eye when exposed to light. He was the first to show that single nerve fibres can distinguish between different wavelengths of light. Granit also studied the control of movement, particularly the role of muscle sense-organs called muscle spindles and tendon organs. This enabled him to establish the neural pathways and processes by which internal receptors regulate and coordinate muscle action. 1900-10-30T00:00:00+0000Eccles was a neurophysiologist whose discoveries relating to peripheral and central portions of the nerve cell membrane in the early 1950s won him the 1963 Nobel Prize for Medicine. He and colleagues also conducted experiments that proved chemical synaptic transmission and uncovered the role of acetylcholine as a neurotransmitter in the brain.1903-01-27T00:00:00+0000Kosterlitz was a phamacologist whose initial his career focused on investigating carbohydrate metabolism. Forced to leave Germany in 1934 as a result of his Jewish background, Kosterlitz landed up in Aberdeen where he took up the study of the effects of proteins on liver function. His work in this area helped shaped the guidelines for the intake of proteins during pregnancy. Kosterlitz subsequently switched to investigating the pharmacology of opiates. He demonstrated that morphine inhibited the release of neurotransmitters and that various opiates could inhibit the release of acetylcholine. In the 1970s he discovered enkephalin, the first endogenous opioid.1903-04-27T00:00:00+0000Vogt was a pharmacologist who left Nazi Germany in 1933 for Britain where she became one of the leading neuroscientists of the twentieth century. Her most important contribution was advancing knowledge about the role of neurotransmitters in the brain. She demonstrated that the hormones epinephrine and norepinephrine enable brain cells to communicate. In 1954 she published a paper on sympathin which helped to establish the important role of amines in the brain and paved the way to the development of modern anti-depressant therapy.1903-09-08T00:00:00+0000Von Euler was a physiologist and pharmacologist best known for working out the distribution and fate of noradrenaline in biological tissues and the nervous system. In 1970 he shared the Nobel Prize for Medicine for 'discoveries concerning the humoral transmittors in the nerve terminals and the mechanism for their storage, release and inactivation.'1905-02-07T00:00:00+0000Levi-Montalcini is best known for sharing the Nobel Prize in 1986 for helping to discover and isolate the nerve growth factor which helps regulate the growth, maintenance, proliferation and survival of certain neurons. Banned by Mussolini from working in academia because she was Jewish, Levi-Montalcini conducted much of her early work in a makeshift laboratory in her bedroom. She later became the director of the Research Center of Neurobiology and the Laboratory of Cellular Biology in Washington University and founded the European Brain Research Institute. 1909-04-22T00:00:00+0000Katz was a physician and biophysicist who was forced to flee Nazi Germany for Britain as a child because of his Jewish background. He is best known for having uncovered the properties of synapses, the junction between two nerve cells where signals pass between nerve cells and other types of cells. In 1970 he shared the Nobel Prize for Medicine for 'discoveries concerning the humoral transmittors in the nerve terminals and the mechanism for their storage, release and inactivation.' His work laid the foundation for investigations into the effects of nerve agents and pesticides. 1911-03-26T00:00:00+0000Jackson is considered one of the founders of modern neurology. He was one of the first to determine structural brain damage can cause abnormal mental states. Jackson showed that epileptic convulsions were linked to lesions of the motor region of the cerebral cortex, the outer layer of the brain. Much of the conceptual framework for clinical neurophysiology today is based on a systematic analytical methods for anatomy, pathology and physiology that Jackson developed.1911-10-07T00:00:00+0000Axelrod was a pharmacologist and biochemist who shared the 1970 Nobel Prize for Medicine for his discovery of the important role of neurotransmitters in the regulation of the nervous system. His work laid the foundation for the development of drugs for pain relief and a new class of antidepressants. Axelrod also helped demonstrate how the pineal gland is regulated during the sleep-awake cycle. 1912-05-30T00:00:00+0000Sperry was a neuropsychologist and neurobiologst. He is best known for having shown that the two hemispheres of the brain function independently of one another and have completely different functions, a phenomenon he called the 'split brain'. This he determined based on experiments in 1950s and 1960s. In the first set of experiments he severed the corpus callosum, the large bundle of neurons that connects the two parts of the brain, in cats and monkeys. Later he studied humans who had had their corpus callosum severed as part of their treatment for epilepsy. He was jointly awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1981 for 'discoveries concerning the functional specialization of the cerebral hemispheres.'1913-08-20T00:00:00+0000Hodgkin was a physiologist and biophysicist who helped discover, with Andrew F Huxley, the chemical processes responsible for the transmission of electrical impulses from one nerve cell in the brain through to other nerve fibers. This they did based on experiments involving the introduction of microelectrodes into the giant nerve fibre of the squid. Hodgkin received the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1963 for this work. 1914-02-05T00:00:00+0000Alzheimer was a German psychiatrist and neuropathlogist who is credited with identifying the disease named after him. He first came across the disease in 1901 when a 51 year old female woman, Auguste Deter, was admitted to Frankfurt asylum. Her symptoms included a loss of short-term memory. Alzheimer was able to examine her brain after she died in 1906. Using staining techniques he found her brain contained amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, abnormalities that are now associated with Alzheimer's disease.1915-12-19T00:00:00+0000Kocher was a Swiss physician and medical researcher who was a major pioneer in the fields of applied surgery, neurosurgery and, especially, thyroid surgery and endocrinology. His success in the field of surgery is attributed to his implementation of antiseptic wound treatment, use of special masks on patients for anaesthesia and controlling blood loss during surgery. Kocher was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1909 for his work on the physiology, pathology and surgery of the thyroid. He was the first Swiss person and first surgeon to ever receive the prize. Within the field of neurosurgery he showed that some epilepsy cases were caused by brain tumours that could be surgically removed. 1917-07-27T00:00:00+0000Huxley was a physiologist and biophysicist who helped uncover the mechanism of muscle contraction in 1954 through experiments on the giant axon of the Atlantic Squid. His study of muscle fibres was helped by his development of interference microscopy. Huxley shared the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1963 for 'discoveries concerning the ionic mechanisms involved in excitation and inhibition in the peripheral and central portions of the nerve cell membrane'. 1917-11-22T00:00:00+0000Carlsson was a neuropharmacologist who shared the 2000 Nobel Prize for Medicine for 'discoveries concerning signal transduction in the nervous system.' This was based on the work he did in 1957 in which he demonstrated dopamine to be a brain neurotransmitter that was connected with the control of movement. He went on to show that the drug L-Dopa, a precursor of dopamnine, could help alleviate the symptoms in patients with early-stage Parkinson's disease. His research also paved the way to the development of fluoxetine (Prozac), one of today's most widely used antidepressant drugs. 1923-01-25T00:00:00+0000MacEwen was a Scottish physician who developed a technique to locate brain tumours by observing changes in motor and sensory functions. He performed the first successful intracranial surgery in 1879 on a teenage girl. The operation was conducted based on preoperative observation of twitches on her face and arms. The patient lived for another eight years. An autopsy performed after her death showed no trace of her tumour.1924-03-22T00:00:00+0000Paintal was a scientist who spent his career investigating cardiovascular sensory mechanisms. He pioneered single-fibre dissection and electrophysiological techniques which made it possible for him to record different impulses from individual sensory receptors in the body. Using these methods he identified several sensory receptors, including atrial B receptors, pulmonary J-receptors, ventricular pressure receptors, stomach stretch receptors, and muscle pain receptors. 1925-09-24T00:00:00+0000Greengard is a neurobiologist who shared the 2000 Nobel Prize for Medicine for his discovery of how the neurotransmitter, dopamine, functions in the nervous system. Beginning this work in the late 1960s, Greengaard showed that dopamine binds to receptors on the outer membrane of a neuron. This stimulates a second messenger, cyclic AMP, which in itself activates an enzyme that adds phosphate molecules to other proteins in the neuron. Greengard's work has paved the way to greater understanding of certain neurological and psychiatric disorders and development of new treatments. 1925-12-11T00:00:00+0000Golgi was a cytologist and pathologist who shared the 1906 Nobel Prize in Medicine for research into the nervous system. He developed a microscopic staining technique, using silver compounds, for seeing new and unseen structures in nerve tissues and individual neurons in the brain. This he invented in 1873 while working as chief medical officer at the Hospital for the Chronically ill. Golgi was the first to provide clear descriptions of the structure of the cerebellum, hippocampus, spinal cord and olfactory lobe. He also defined striatal and cortical lesions in the case of chorea, a neurological disorder.1926-01-21T00:00:00+0000Kandel is a neuroscientist who won the 2000 Nobel Prize for Medicine for working out the physiological basis of memory storage in neurons. He determined this on the basis of studying Aplysia californica, a sea slug. The advantage of the slug is that is has large nerve cells amenable to experimental manipulation and is a member of the simplest group of animals known to be capable of learning. Kandel and his Jewish parents were forced to leave Austria after Germany annexed the country. 1929-11-07T00:00:00+0000Ramon y Cahal was a Spanish histologist and neuroscientist. He combined scientific and artistic skills to uncover the structure of the nervous system. His theory that the brain is made up of individual cells rather than a tangled web is now a fundamental principle in neuroscience. He shared the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1906 for his discoveries about the structure of the nervous system. 1934-10-17T00:00:00+0000Cushing was an American neurosurgeon who was a major pioneer of brain surgery. He is best known for his work on the pituitary gland and for the first to describe Cushing disease, a condition caused by the body producing too much of a hormone called cortisol, often caused by a tumour or excess growth in the pituitary gland. This leads to swelling in the trunk and face. Cushing also identified several varieties of brain tumours and made great advances in their treatment. Many of the operating procedures and techniques now used in surgery of the brain also come from him.1939-10-07T00:00:00+0000Berger was a psychiatrist and neurologist who developed the first electroencephalogram (EEG) in 1924 for recording brain wave patterns. His technique involved the insertion of silver wires under the patient's scalp, one at the front and one at the back of the head. Berger's innovation was a historic breakthrough, providing an important neurological and psychological tool. Using the EEG Berger was the first to describe different waves or rhythms in the normal and abnormal brain. Many of his German peers, however, did not recognise the significance of his work. Despite gaining international recognition, the Nazi regime forced Berger into early retirement at the age of 65 and banned him from any further work on the EEG. 1941-06-01T00:00:00+0000Prusiner is a biochemist and neurologist who is known for his discovery of prions in 1982, a class of proteins he believed caused infections by improper protein folding, resulting in fatal disease in the brain and neural tissue. Initially the scientific community was sceptical of Prusiner's work, but by the 1990s prions had become linked to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), known as mad cow's disease, and its human equivalent, Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (CJD). Prions are now being investigated as a possible cause of Alzheimer's disease and Parkinsons. Prusiner was awarded the 1997 Nobel Prize in Medicine for his discovery of prions.1942-05-28T00:00:00+0000Axel is a neuroscientist who shared the 2004 Nobel Prize for Medicine for his findings relating to the olefactory system. In 1991 he and Linda Buck worked out the process for how nearly 1000 genes code for oderant sensors located in the back of the nasal cavity. Each receptor, they showed, is a protein that changes whenever an oderant gets attached to the receptor. This reaction causes an electrical signal to be sent to the brain. Axel is the son of Polish immigrants who escaped to New York when the Nazis invaded their homeland. 1946-07-02T00:00:00+0000A biochemist and cell biologist by training, Rothman was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2013. He received the Prize for helping to show how vesicles - small sac-like structures inside cells that carry hormones, growth factors and other molecules- determine when they have reached their correct destination to release their contents. This mechanism is vital to many key physiological functions, including cellular division, the secretion of hormones like insulin, communication between nerve cells in the brain and nutrient uptake. When this process breaks down it can lead to conditions like diabetes and botulism. 1950-11-03T00:00:00+0000Sherrington was a British neurophysiologist, histologist, bacteriologist, and a pathologist who conducted research into the function of neurons. He shared the 1932 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for helping to show that reflexes need integrated activation. Prior to this reflexes were assumed to occur as an isolated activity within a reflex arc. Sherrington coined the terms synapse and neuron to describe parts of the nerve cell that receive or transmit nervous impulses between cells1952-03-04T00:00:00+0000By transferring tumours to chick embryos, Levi-Montalcini noticed that certain cancerous tissue caused extremely rapid growth of nerve cells. She described it as 'like rivulets of water flowing steadily over a bed of stones.' R Levi-Montalcini, 'Effects of mouse tumor transplantation on the nervous system', Annals of the NY Academy of Sciences, 55/2 (1952), 330-44.1952-08-08T00:00:00+0000Moniz was a Portuguese neurologist who pioneered the use of cerebral angiography. He developed the procedure on the back of his idea that the ability to visualise blood vessels would provide a more precise means to locate brain tumours. His technique involved the injection of radiopaque dyes into brain arteries and taking X-rays to see if there were any abnormalities. First presented in 1927, Moniz's technique paved the pay to using angiography to detect internal blockages of the artery. He was also awarded the Nobel Prize in 1949 for his development of lobotomy for treating certain psychoses.1955-12-13T00:00:00+0000Loewi was a German pharmacologist and physician. He is credited with the discovery of the first neurotransmitter, acetylcholine, in the brain. His work provided the first evidence that chemicals were involved in the transmission of impulses between nerve cells and from neurons to the responsive organ. He established this through investigations of the frog. Loewi was awarded the 1936 Nobel Prize for Medicine for his work.1961-12-25T00:00:00+0000May-Britt Moser is best known the pioneering research she did with her husband, Edvard, on the brain's mechanism for representing space. In 2005 they discovered a type of nerve cell near the hippocampus that helps with navigation. They were awarded the Nobel Prize in 2014 on the back of this work. 1963-01-04T00:00:00+0000Gasser was an American physiologist. He shared the 1944 Nobel Prize for Medicine for discovering different fibers in nerves that conduct electrochemical pulses at different rates. Together with Joseph Erlanger he studied the barely detectable electrical impulses carried by mammalian nerve fibres. By 1924 they had managed to visualise amplified nerve impulses on a fluorescent screen. Their work demonstrated that one type of fiber conducts pain signals and others conduct motor control signals. Gasser was the director of the Rockefeller Institute from 1936 to 1953.1963-05-11T00:00:00+0000Erlanger was an American physiologist who shared the 1944 Nobel Prize for Medicine with Herbert Graasser for working out the actions of nerve fibers. This they achieved by modifying a Western Electric oscilloscope to run at low voltages. The innovation enabled them to discover that neurons come in many forms and transmit impulses at different rates. 1965-12-05T00:00:00+0000Dale was a British pharmacologist and physiologist who helped identify acetylcholine, the first neurotransmitter discovered, in 1914. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1936 on the basis of this work and uncovering the chemical process by which nerve impulses are transmitted. During the 1940s he drew up a scheme to differentiate neurons according to the neurotransmitters they release.1968-07-23T00:00:00+0000Hess was a Swiss physiologist who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1949 for identifying parts of the brain that control internal organs. He used brain stimulation techniques using electrodes to map regions of the brain associated with specific physiological responses. This he did using cats in the 1930s. He also found it possible to induce excitement and apathy by stimulating different parts of the hypothalamus. 1973-08-12T00:00:00+0000Adrian was a British electrophysiologist who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1932 for his discoveries relating to the nerve cell. This he did with the help of a capillary electrometer and cathode ray tube to amplify the signals produced by the nerve system. Recording the electrical discharge of single nerve fibres under stimulus in a frog he was the first to prove the presence of electricity within nerve cells. This paved the way to a better understanding of the physical basis of sensation and the mechanism of muscular control. His work on the electrical activity of the brain opened up new investigations into epilepsy and the location of cerebral lesions.1977-08-04T00:00:00+0000Von Euler was a Swedish physiologist and pharmacologist best known for working out the distribution and fate of noradrenaline in biological tissues and the nervous system. In 1970 he shared the Nobel Prize for Medicine for 'discoveries concerning the humoral transmittors in the nerve terminals and the mechanism for their storage, release and inactivation.'1983-03-09T00:00:00+0000Granit was a Finish-Swedish physiologist who was jointly awarded Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1967 for demonstrating the internal electrical changes that take place in the eye when exposed to light. He was the first to show that single nerve fibres can distinguish between different wavelengths of light. Granit also studied the control of movement, particularly the role of muscle sense-organs called muscle spindles and tendon organs. This enabled him to establish the neural pathways and processes by which internal receptors regulate and coordinate muscle action.1991-03-12T00:00:00+0000Sperry was an American neuropsychologist and neurobiologst. He is best known for having shown that the two hemispheres of the brain function independently of one another and have completely different functions, a phenomenon he called the 'split brain'. This he determined based on experiments in 1950s and 1960s. In the first set of experiments he severed the corpus callosum, the large bundle of neurons that connects the two parts of the brain, in cats and monkeys. Later he studied humans who had had their corpus callosum severed as part of their treatment for epilepsy. He was jointly awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1981 for 'discoveries concerning the functional specialization of the cerebral hemispheres.'1994-04-17T00:00:00+0000Kosterlitz was a German phamacologist whose initial his career focused on investigating carbohydrate metabolism. Forced to leave Germany in 1934 as a result of his Jewish background, Kosterlitz landed up in Aberdeen where he took up the study of the effects of proteins on liver function. His work in this area helped shaped the guidelines for the intake of proteins during pregnancy. Kosterlitz subsequently switched to investigating the pharmacology of opiates. He demonstrated that morphine inhibited the release of neurotransmitters and that various opiates could inhibit the release of acetylcholine. In the 1970s he discovered enkephalin, the first endogenous opioid1996-10-26T00:00:00+0000Eccles was an neurophysiologist whose discoveries relating to peripheral and central portions of the nerve cell membrane in the early 1950s won him the 1963 Nobel Prize for Medicine. He and colleagues also conducted experiments that proved chemical synaptic transmission and uncovered the role of acetylcholine as a neurotransmitter in the brain.1997-05-02T00:00:00+0000Prions are a class of proteins that cause infections by improper protein folding, resulting in fatal disease in the brain and neural tissue. Initially the scientific community was sceptical of Prusiner's work, but by the 1990s prions had been demonstrated to be linked to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), known as mad cow's disease, and its human equivalent, Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (CJD). Prions are now being investigated as a possible cause of Alzheimer's disease and Parkinsons. 1997-10-06T00:00:00+0000Hodgkin was an English physiologist and biophysicist who helped discover, with Andrew F Huxley, the chemical processes responsible for the transmission of electrical impulses from one nerve cell in the brain through to other nerve fibers. This they did based on experiments involving the introduction of microelectrodes into the giant nerve fibre of the squid. Hodgkin received the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1963 for this work. 1998-12-20T00:00:00+0000Research carried out by Ramin Shiekhattar published in Journal of Biological Chemistry. 2002-08-20T00:00:00+0000Katz was a physician and biophysicist who was forced to flee Nazi Germany for Britain as a child because of his Jewish background. He is best known for having uncovered the properties of synapses, the junction between two nerve cells where signals pass between nerve cells and other types of cells. In 1970 he shared the Nobel Prize for Medicine for 'discoveries concerning the humoral transmittors in the nerve terminals and the mechanism for their storage, release and inactivation.' His work laid the foundation for investigations into the effects of nerve agents and pesticides. 2003-04-20T00:00:00+0000Vogt was a German pharmacologist who left Nazi Germany for Britain where she became one of the leading neuroscientists of the twentieth century. Her most important contribution was advancing knowledge about the role of neurotransmitters in the brain. She demonstrated that the hormones epinephrine and norepinephrine enable brain cells to communicate. In 1954 she published a paper on sympathin which helped to establish the important role of amines in the brain and paved the way to the development of modern anti-depressant therapy. 2003-09-09T00:00:00+0000Paintal was an Indian scientist who spent his career investigating cardiovascular sensory mechanisms. He pioneered single-fibre dissection and electrophysiological techniques which made it possible for him to record different impulses from individual sensory receptors in the body. Using these methods he identified several sensory receptors, including atrial B receptors, pulmonary J-receptors, ventricular pressure receptors, stomach stretch receptors, and muscle pain receptors. 2004-12-21T00:00:00+0000Axelrod was a pharmacologist and biochemist who shared the 1970 Nobel Prize for Medicine for his discovery of the important role of neurotransmitters in the regulation of the nervous system. His work laid the foundation for the development of drugs for pain relief and a new class of antidepressants. Axelrod also helped demonstrate how the pineal gland is regulated during the sleep-awake cycle.2004-12-29T00:00:00+0000The finding was made by the husband and wife team May-Britt Moser and Edvard I Moser together with John O'Keefe after conducting experiments with rats. They found that when a rat developed nerve cells that form a co-ordinate system for navigation when they passed certain points on a hexagonal grid. The teams work laid the foundation for new understandings about the cognitive processes and spacial deficits associated with neurological disorders like Alzheimer's disease. 2005-01-01T00:00:00+0000Huxley was and English physiologist an biophysicist who helped uncover the mechanism of muscle contraction in 1954 through experiments on the giant axon of the Atlantic Squid. His study of muscle fibres was helped by his development of interference microscopy. Huxley shared the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1963 for 'discoveries concerning the ionic mechanisms involved in excitation and inhibition in the peripheral and central portions of the nerve cell membrane'. 2012-05-30T00:00:00+0000Levi-Montalcini is best known for sharing the Nobel Prize in 1986 for helping to discover and isolate the nerve growth factor which helps regulate the growth, maintenance, proliferation and survival of certain neurons. Banned by Mussolini from working in academia because she was Jewish, Levi-Montalcini conducted much of her early work in a makeshift laboratory in her bedroom. She later became the director of the Research Center of Neurobiology and the Laboratory of Cellular Biology in Washington University and founded the European Brain Research Institute. 2012-12-30T00:00:00+0000J. Sevigny et al, 'The antibody aducanumab reduces A-beta plaques in Alzheimer’s disease', 'Nature', 37 (2016), 50-56.2016-09-01T00:00:00+0000Carlsson was a Swedish neuropharmacologist who shared the 2000 Nobel Prize for Medicine for 'discoveries concerning signal transduction in the nervous system.' This was based on the work he did in 1957 in which he demonstrated dopamine to be a brain neurotransmitter that was connected with the control of movement. He went on to show that the drug L-Dopa, a precursor of dopamnine, could help alleviate the symptoms in patients with early-stage Parkinson's disease. His research also paved the way to the development of fluoxetine (Prozac), one of today's most widely used antidepressant drugs. 2018-06-29T00:00:00+0000
Date Event People Places
6 Oct 1783Francois Magendie was born in Bordeaux, FranceMagendieCollege of France
17 Sep 1806Guillaume-Benjamin-Amand Duchenne was born in Boulogne, FranceDuchenne 
4 Apr 1835John H Jackson was born in Green Hampton, Yorkshire, United KingdomJacksonNational Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery
25 Aug 1841Emil Theodor Kocher was born in Berne, SwitzerlandKocherUniversity of Berne
7 Jul 1843Camillo Golgi was born in Corteno, ItalyGolgiUniversity of Pavia
22 Jun 1848William MacEwen was bornMacEwenUniversity of Glasgow
1 May 1852Santiago Ramon y Cajal was born in Petilla de Arago, SpainRamon y CajalMadrid University
7 Oct 1855Francois Magendie diedMagendieCollege of France
27 Nov 1857Charles S Sherrington was born in London, UKSherringtonUniversity of London, University of Liverpool, Oxford University
14 Jun 1864Alois Alzheimer was born in Markbreit, GermanyAlzheimerFrankfurt Asylum
8 Apr 1869Harvey W Cushing was born in Cleveland, Ohio, USACushingJohns Hopkins University
21 May 1873Hans Berger was born in Coburg, GermanyBergerCoburg, Germany
3 Jun 1873Otto Loewi was born in Frankfurt-on-the-Main, GermanyLoewiGraz University
5 Jan 1874Joseph Erlanger was born in San Francisco CA, USAErlangerWashington University in St Louis
29 Nov 1874Antonio Egas Moniz was born in Avanca, Estarreja, PortugalMonizUniversity of Lisbon
9 Jun 1875Henry H Dale was born in London, UKDaleNational Institute for Medical Research
18 Sep 1875Guillaume-Benjamin-Amand Duchenne diedDuchenne 
17 Mar 1881Walter R Hess was born in Frauenfeld, SwitzerlandHessUniversity of Zurich
5 Jul 1888Herbert Spencer Gasser was born in Platteville WI, USAGasserRockefeller Institute
30 Nov 1889Edgar Douglas Adrian born in London, UKAdrianCambridge University
30 Oct 1900Ragnar Granit was born in Helsinki, FinlandGranitKarolinska Institute
27 Jan 1903John C Eccles was born in Melbourne, AustraliaEcclesAustralian National University
27 Apr 1903Hans Kosterlitz was born in Berlin, GermanyKosterlitzUniversity of Aberdeen
8 Sep 1903Marthe L Vogt was born in Berlin, GermanyVogtNational Institute for Medical Research
7 Feb 1905Ulf von Euler was born in Stockholm, Swedenvon EulerKarolinska Institute
22 Apr 1909Rita Levi-Montalcini was born in Turin, ItalyLevi-MontalciniWashington University
26 Mar 1911Bernard Katz was born in Leipzig, GermanyKatzUniversity College London
7 Oct 1911John H Jackson diedJacksonNational Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery
30 May 1912Julius Axelrod was born in New York, NY, USAAxelrodNational Institutes of Health
20 Aug 1913Roger W Sperry was born in Hartford CT, USASperryCalifornia Institute of Technology
5 Feb 1914Alan Lloyd Hodgkin was born in Banbury, UKA HodgkinCambridge University
19 Dec 1915Alois Alzheimer diedAlzheimerFrankfurt Asylum
27 Jul 1917Emil Theodor Kocher diedKocherUniversity of Berne
22 Nov 1917Andrew F Huxley was born in Hampstead, UKHuxleyCambridge University, University College London
25 Jan 1923Arvid Carlsson was born in Uppsala, SwedenCarlssonGoteborg University
22 Mar 1924William MacEwen diedMacEwanUniversity of Glasgow
24 Sep 1925Autar Singh Paintal was born in Mogok, IndiaPaintalAll India Institute of Medical Sciences, University College of Medical Sciences, Indian Council of Medical Research
11 Dec 1925Paul Greengard was born in New York, USAGreengardRockefeller University
21 Jan 1926Camillo Golgi diedGolgiUniversity of Pavia
7 Nov 1929Eric R Kandel was born in Vienna, AustriaKandelColumbia University
17 Oct 1934Santiago Ramon y Cajal diedRamon y CajalMadrid University
7 Oct 1939Harvey W Cushing diedCushingJohns Hopkins University
1 Jun 1941Hans Berger diedBerger 
28 May 1942Stanley B Prusiner was born in Des Moines, Iowa, USAPrusinerUniversity College San Francisco
2 Jul 1946Richard Axel was born in New York City, USAAxelNew York City
3 Nov 1950James E Rothman was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts, USARothmanStanford University, Princeton University, Columbia University
4 Mar 1952Charles S Sherrington diedSherringtonUniversity of London, University of Liverpool, Oxford University
1952Rita Levi-Montalcini announced isolation of nerve-growth factorLevi-MontalciniWashington University in St. Louis
13 Dec 1955Egas Moniz diedMonizUniversity of Lisbon
25 Dec 1961Otto Loewi diedLoewiGraz University
4 Jan 1963May-Britt Moser born in Fosnavag, NorwayMay-Britt MoserNorwegian University of Science and Technology
11 May 1963Herbert Spencer Gasser diedGasserRockefeller Institute
5 Dec 1965Joseph Erlanger diedErlangerWashington University in St Louis
23 Jul 1968Henry H Dale diedDaleNational Institute for Medical Research
12 Aug 1973Walter R Hess diedHessUniversity of Zurich
4 Aug 1977Edgar Douglas Adrian diedAdrianCambridge University
9 Mar 1983Ulf von Euler diedvon EulerKarolinska Institute
12 Mar 1991Ragnar Granit diedGranitKarolinska Institute
17 Apr 1994Roger W Sperry diedSperryCalifornia Institute of Technology
26 Oct 1996Hans Kosterlitz diedKosterlitzUniversity of Aberdeen
2 May 1997John C Eccles diedEcclesAustralian National University
6 Oct 1997Stanley Prusiner was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine for his discovery of prionsPrusinerUniversity College San Francisco
20 Dec 1998Alan Lloyd Hodgkin diedA HodgkinCambridge University
20 Aug 2002Link identified between genes responsible for neurofibromatosis, a common neurological disorder, and a protein thought to play role in Alzheimer's diseaseShiekhattarWistar Institute
20 Apr 2003Bernard Katz diedKatzUniversity College London
9 Sep 2003Marthe L Vogt diedVogtNational Institute for Medical Research
21 Dec 2004Autar Singh Paintal diedPaintalAll India Institute of Medical Sciences, University College of Medical Sciences, Indian Council of Medical Research
29 Dec 2004Julius Axelrod diedAxelrodNational Institutes of Health
1 Jan 2005Discovery of nerve cell that allows the brain to determine spatial position May-Britt Moser, Edvard Moser, O'KeefeNorwegian University of Science and Technology
30 May 2012Andrew F Huxley diedHuxleyCambridge University, University College London
30 Dec 2012Rita Levi-Montalcini diedLevi-MontalciniInstitute of Cell Biology of the CNR
1 Sep 2016Monoclonal antibody drug for Alzheimer's Disease shown to be promising in phase II clinical trialsSevigny, Chiao, Bussiere, WeinrebBiogen, Neuimmune, Butler Hospital, University of Zurch
29 Jun 2018Arvid Carlsson diedCarlssonGoteborg University

6 Oct 1783

Francois Magendie was born in Bordeaux, France

17 Sep 1806

Guillaume-Benjamin-Amand Duchenne was born in Boulogne, France

4 Apr 1835

John H Jackson was born in Green Hampton, Yorkshire, United Kingdom

25 Aug 1841

Emil Theodor Kocher was born in Berne, Switzerland

7 Jul 1843

Camillo Golgi was born in Corteno, Italy

22 Jun 1848

William MacEwen was born

1 May 1852

Santiago Ramon y Cajal was born in Petilla de Arago, Spain

7 Oct 1855

Francois Magendie died

27 Nov 1857

Charles S Sherrington was born in London, UK

14 Jun 1864

Alois Alzheimer was born in Markbreit, Germany

8 Apr 1869

Harvey W Cushing was born in Cleveland, Ohio, USA

21 May 1873

Hans Berger was born in Coburg, Germany

3 Jun 1873

Otto Loewi was born in Frankfurt-on-the-Main, Germany

5 Jan 1874

Joseph Erlanger was born in San Francisco CA, USA

29 Nov 1874

Antonio Egas Moniz was born in Avanca, Estarreja, Portugal

9 Jun 1875

Henry H Dale was born in London, UK

18 Sep 1875

Guillaume-Benjamin-Amand Duchenne died

17 Mar 1881

Walter R Hess was born in Frauenfeld, Switzerland

5 Jul 1888

Herbert Spencer Gasser was born in Platteville WI, USA

30 Nov 1889

Edgar Douglas Adrian born in London, UK

30 Oct 1900

Ragnar Granit was born in Helsinki, Finland

27 Jan 1903

John C Eccles was born in Melbourne, Australia

27 Apr 1903

Hans Kosterlitz was born in Berlin, Germany

8 Sep 1903

Marthe L Vogt was born in Berlin, Germany

7 Feb 1905

Ulf von Euler was born in Stockholm, Sweden

22 Apr 1909

Rita Levi-Montalcini was born in Turin, Italy

26 Mar 1911

Bernard Katz was born in Leipzig, Germany

7 Oct 1911

John H Jackson died

30 May 1912

Julius Axelrod was born in New York, NY, USA

20 Aug 1913

Roger W Sperry was born in Hartford CT, USA

5 Feb 1914

Alan Lloyd Hodgkin was born in Banbury, UK

19 Dec 1915

Alois Alzheimer died

27 Jul 1917

Emil Theodor Kocher died

22 Nov 1917

Andrew F Huxley was born in Hampstead, UK

25 Jan 1923

Arvid Carlsson was born in Uppsala, Sweden

22 Mar 1924

William MacEwen died

24 Sep 1925

Autar Singh Paintal was born in Mogok, India

11 Dec 1925

Paul Greengard was born in New York, USA

21 Jan 1926

Camillo Golgi died

7 Nov 1929

Eric R Kandel was born in Vienna, Austria

17 Oct 1934

Santiago Ramon y Cajal died

7 Oct 1939

Harvey W Cushing died

1 Jun 1941

Hans Berger died

28 May 1942

Stanley B Prusiner was born in Des Moines, Iowa, USA

28 May 1942

Richard Axel was born in New York City, USA

3 Nov 1950

James E Rothman was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts, USA

4 Mar 1952

Charles S Sherrington died

1952

Rita Levi-Montalcini announced isolation of nerve-growth factor

13 Dec 1955

Egas Moniz died

25 Dec 1961

Otto Loewi died

4 Jan 1963

May-Britt Moser born in Fosnavag, Norway

11 May 1963

Herbert Spencer Gasser died

5 Dec 1965

Joseph Erlanger died

23 Jul 1968

Henry H Dale died

12 Aug 1973

Walter R Hess died

4 Aug 1977

Edgar Douglas Adrian died

9 Mar 1983

Ulf von Euler died

12 Mar 1991

Ragnar Granit died

17 Apr 1994

Roger W Sperry died

26 Oct 1996

Hans Kosterlitz died

2 May 1997

John C Eccles died

6 Oct 1997

Stanley Prusiner was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine for his discovery of prions

20 Dec 1998

Alan Lloyd Hodgkin died

20 Aug 2002

Link identified between genes responsible for neurofibromatosis, a common neurological disorder, and a protein thought to play role in Alzheimer's disease

20 Apr 2003

Bernard Katz died

9 Sep 2003

Marthe L Vogt died

21 Dec 2004

Autar Singh Paintal died

29 Dec 2004

Julius Axelrod died

29 Dec 2004

Discovery of nerve cell that allows the brain to determine spatial position

30 May 2012

Andrew F Huxley died

30 Dec 2012

Rita Levi-Montalcini died

1 Sep 2016

Monoclonal antibody drug for Alzheimer's Disease shown to be promising in phase II clinical trials

29 Jun 2018

Arvid Carlsson died

Respond to or comment on this page on our feeds on Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon or Twitter.